This has been a period of unique challenges for district councils and the Spending Review was a good opportunity to tackle some of these. It is clear some of the chancellor’s announcements in his Spending Review will help support district councils to meet these challenges and help their communities to recover from the pandemic. We are pleased to see investment to help us maintain the work we did keeping ‘Everyone In’ during the pandemic.

It is good that there is new funding for local government to meet some of the pressures coming our way. Many councils will be celebrating successful Levelling Up Fund bids, with 18 districts out of 63 English councils awarded funds worth £312m to local communities. There is ongoing investment in affordable housing, unlocking brownfield sites, and increasing the role of digital technology in our planning system. There has been no ripping up of the business rates system, but the chance to help shape the future of business taxes as Government looks to bring forward consultation on an online sales tax.